What does a main mean to you?

[Holder of the Heel]

A main is a character I don't get tired of using over and over.

A prerequisite of such a character for me is being 100% comfortable with each and every move the character has. If there's even one that makes me nervous about accidentally using (especially on the 3DS haha; laggy tilts and rocketing Dairs are good examples) or I feel like I'm not willing to get every bit of utility I can out of a character because of avoidance (like Jiggly's rest, I'm not sure I could ever try to master such a move personally, but I imagine Jiggly mains love it), then on a consistent and holistic level the main potential has a huge mental block for me.

Bowser Junior is currently the one that I know to fit that best. All of his moves I can enjoy and provide some amount of simple usage which makes me feel free, like I can move and do wherever my inner-smash wants me to, assuming my opponent has nothing to say about that of course lol.

 

[Wintropy]

If you were put in a life or death situation and had to play 1 match with 2 stock and a 5 minute time on final destination, who would you choose? This character is your main. Anybody less than this is a secondary/other

I have about four of those.

I'm not even kidding.

 

[smileMasky]

A main for me is some one I'm good at and have fun with.

 

[Fuzsion]

Toon Link master race? Toon Link master race.

I honestly think that a main should be a character that you choose to play most of the time, not the one's your good with.

 

[JonJon]

I think having more than one or two mains defeats the purpose of the word "main"
I think it should go like this:
1 Main
2-3 Secondaries
And from then on you can have as many characters you love and like to play.

 

[Heketzu]

Main is a character that I can consistently place with in tournaments.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

is my main as he's my favourite character on the roster. I adore his overall design, personality and the games he featured in. His moveset feels so natural to me; I love how a great Pit player can completely banish you from touching the stage with his aerials. Once I broke through the mentality that it was hard to kill with him, the game got so much more enjoyable for me. It all became even easier once I learned how potent his Smashes are, not to mention his Upperdash.

With over 600 matches in, I've yet to get bored of using this character. This is exactly why I urge everyone to pick a character to main that you have sentimental attachment with. If you have that factor, the growth and learning will come faster, and be all the more rewarding. His gimping ability, recovery, aerials, grabs and smashes are all fantastic to me. If I didn't play any of the Kid Icarus games, I don't know if I'd have noticed that in him, or if I would have had the heart to continue when I was handed loss after loss.

 

[ChefKef]

I feel there are two categories of mains:
1. Your fun main, the character you play with when against friends, or just enjoying the game online.
2. Your competitive main, the character you are the best with.
Every other character that you are good with is a secondary.
Jigglypuff is life.

 

[Zero Suit Roxas]

Toon Link master race? Toon Link master race.

I honestly think that a main should be a character that you choose to play most of the time, not the one's your good with.

"zomg wat little mac mastur race 4 lyfe" in 3...2...1...

You take your main into battle to win, so you should be good at it.

 

[Dirty Duck]

I don't really know yet honestly, the idea of a main is kind of new to me because since I used to always play Fighters with friends I'd try not to overplay one character so as not to irritate them, but in hindsight I guess I'd consider my mains to be the one's I was best with and liked the aesthetic of? Mileena and Kung Lao from Mortal Kombat come to mind. Still not 100% sure with Smash, testing the waters with some fighters I previously ignored in Brawl due to being so obsessed with a select few.

 

[Funkermonster]

For me, a main is a character you're putting the most effort into learning, play the most, or are taking the most seriously on a competitive setting. And for me, a main is also someone I would dare use when the stakes are high like if I'm a tournament, some great prize is on the line such as money, to get some glory and look cool, or even a life/death situation (like that'd ever happen though). I would personally not go beyond 4 characters as a whole team of mains, because I haven't mastered any of them and adding more would slow down the learning process.

I have two mains who I feel most comfy playing and do best with and would definitely use in tournaments, they are usually my go-to characters when meeting new opponents to test their skill against mine: and .

I have two secondaries I use if I feel the matchup is in their favor, or if I feel my opponent is weak enough so I can use them for fun and still do decently: and . I have not gotten as good of a grasp with them as my mains though, so I wouldn't use them in tournaments as much.

I also enjoy playing as and, but I would not use them when I'm getting serious. Might consider maining them in the future once I've mastered the 4 I already stick with though.

 

[kyxsune]

To me a Main, is the character you know inside in out, the one where you can shift your gameplay style on a second notice. Its one thing to have all the frame data and strengths of a character, its another to "feel" how to mix in those strengths in combat.

 

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

For me, a main is a character you're putting the most effort into learning, play the most, or are taking the most seriously on a competitive setting. And for me, a main is also someone I would dare use when the stakes are high like if I'm a tournament, some great prize is on the line such as money, to get some glory and look cool, or even a life/death situation (like that'd ever happen though). I would personally not go beyond 4 characters as a whole team of mains, because I haven't mastered any of them and adding more would slow down the learning process.

I agree with this completely, and it's rather close to how feel about mains. The point @ SwoodGrommet made about the main having some sort of sentimental value was spot on as well. After playing extensively with several different characters, I finally decided this weekend to go with . Ever since I was younger, I've always loved the little creature, and his combat abilities fit me well. For the time being, My secondaries are and , but as I learn them and learn Yoshi, I may upgrade one of them to a second main. My playabouts are currently /(I love the character, and may consider using him/her much more in the future), /, , , and.

 

[Maxoxpower]

I have never seen a DK MAIN...or DK in a main list
so sad...

 

[Colin Steele]

I asked a question similar to this a few weeks before the game came out and from most people's response, I concluded the following:

You main a character you really enjoy, and you only have a single main.

Your secondary, or pocket characters are used to cover the unfavorable match-ups your main has.

So out of the 13 or so characters you claim to "main", a few of them are naturally going to be weaker than the others. You're also probably not spending an equal amount of time on each character, and you're probably actually more proficient at some characters than others. You could more accurately say that you have a few primaries, and a few secondaries.

Out of the tremendously large, and relatively balanced roster we have in this game, I know it's hard to pick one you really click with. If you're not playing competitively i.e. local tournaments, you probably don't even have to., but you simply cannot claim to have 13 mains.

 

[Freduardo]

Main is my best. Extra mains only exist because I'm not sure which one is better.

Every other character is secondary. Cause I don't understand playing a fighting game and not playing every character.

 

[Khao]

To me, a main is your one go-to character that's your best/most played one. Like, say you had to choose one character to use for the rest of the game's lifetime for whatever reason, if you got an easy choice, that's your main.

I got a small group of favorite characters already, but I wouldn't say I've found my main yet, until I got a clear #1, I just don't think it counts as a main. That's just me, though, having multiple mains is totally doable.

 

[Gyorg the Yossarian]

A main is the single best character in your arsenal.
a second is who you are second best with, one you might play more than you main, but isn't the best character per se (low tier, love him but can't use him as well, etc.)
fallbacks are the characters you use after losing with your main, your spice of life.
play-a-bouts are what you enjoy playing, to some extent, but aren't good with.
then there are your Untouchables, ones you never, EVER play.

 

[Roko Jono]

the character who you believe to be your all-around best character.

seriously, what else would it mean. its not meant to be deep

/thread

 

[NiderQueen]

To me, a main means a character you frequently favor more than others. I guess in other defintions, you can have one main, one secondary, and a b-team.

 

[chucho]

I have 3 main characters because in games like soul caliber i like to main 3 characters An all out attacker, Defensive and a balanced character. But i just carried the 3 character thing to smash.

 

[elitex12]

I main Captain Falcon... But honestly just because I will always say he is my main, for smash 4 I don't truly main anyone, they all depend on how I feel like playing at that moment... Its just that I can pick up Falcon more easily then the others.

 

[Pale Tuna]

A main to me is a single character. There is no "secondary" or "pocket-characters" in my eyes. <.< I use every character, or rather.. try to. But I only truly main one character. But of course, specializing with more than one character will help when counter-picking. It's better to have 2-3 than a single one.

 

[L9999]

To me a main is that charatcer you play the most because you like to play it and you win with it.
Main:
Pocket: Screw Yoshi and Sanic.

 

[_Magus_]

To me, a main is almost exclusive. It's a character you commit to and take the time to learn and master. I think people are confusing "Main" with "Character I enjoy playing as." If a main is nothing more than a character one enjoys playing as, then I have 38 Brawl Mains cuz I enjoy playing as all of them.

It's like saying "I have 13 wives." Now, a main is a more flexible commitment than marriage, but it's the same concept. Think of a main as your Smash spouse. Be true to your main.

**Disclaimer** This is IMO.

 

[adamlon1]

I'm proficient with around 14 characters although its not equal in proficiency since I am better with Capn Falcon, Ganondorf, Dark Pit, Pit, Marth, Fox and Lucina then my Doc Mario and Sheik and etc.

 

[SmashBro99]

the character who you believe to be your all-around best character.

seriously, what else would it mean. its not meant to be deep

/thread

This, whoever you are most comfortable playing as too.

 

[Altais]

To me, a main is a character whom I favour not for their personality or appearance, but rather for their moveset; someone whose moveset has the closest match to mine playstyle.

In pretty much every Smash game yet, I have always ended up maining a character I never expected to be good with. When the very first Smash for the 64 came out, I thought Link was going to be mine favourite, but it turned out to be Ness. In Melee, I thought Ness would be mine favourite once again, but it turned out to be Marth. And in Brawl, I thought either Marth, Pit, Sonic, or Meta Knight would be mine favourite, but I ended up maining Zelda and Lucas. [Shrugs] Truth be told, Meta Knight WAS mine original Brawl main, but after learning how insanely overpowered he was and that he was banned from most competitive crowds, I stuck with Zelda.

Personally, I like to stick with only two or three mains--no more than that. The reason I, and most intermediate players, chose more than one main is to have another option if mine other main is weak against a certain type of character. If I try to master multiple or all characters, mine skills just turn out to be clumsy.

As Bruce Lee once said, "I fear not the person whom has practised ten-thousand kicks once, but I fear the person whom has practised the same kick ten-thousand times." At the end of the day, habit will always overcome memory.

 

[Deleted member]

I see a main as a character I am both comfortable with and skillful with.
I know who I like by various points.

Practical: Functionality>Options
Comforting: Feel>Appearance>Personality

- Practical Traits -
Functionality is an obvious priority. If your character performs a trashy play it's really no good.

I like to have options. I don't like characters that revolve around a repetitive and blatantly flowchart-coated actions to do well.

- Comforting Traits -

The basic feel of the character. Smooth movements, and revolving around 1-2 and sometimes 3 skills. I don't like characters that use their bottomless pockets and bags to fight, I want them to have their primary power source at ready, preferably things among the lines of generated energy attacks.

I like my fighters not only performing with their one thing at ready, but their appearance to suit the part.

I prefer to have a reason to respect my main. Their personality still isn't a big deal, though.

 

[JingleJangleJamil]

My main is Marth. He is my best and favorite character to play as. I started maining Marth because I didn't really have a specific type of character I liked to use, so when I was trying him out I just stuck with him. I don't really use him because he is good, I use him because he just feels natural to play for me. I like how elegant and honorable his personality is. His personality also kind of represents how he plays in the hands of a good player with him.

 

[SirIanAsh]

A main is someone I like, someone I play good as and can memorize his moveset and be good at it.
I only have 2 mains, Toon Link and Robin, Also there are Secondaries, which are pretty much characters you are good at but don't play as as much. Mine are Ganondorf and Marth

 

[RadiantTactician]

For me, they just aren't my favorite characters, but they're also fighters that I have the utmost confidence with winning. Ike, Robin, and Toon Link are what I consider my mains, but I have plenty of other characters that I also enjoy using, such as Marth/Lucina, Zelda, Shulk, and Sheik.

 

[DrewMoney]

Main from what I seen over the years is character(s) that you can pick up and be naturally good with. It is possible to have 2/3 mains but anything after 4 doesn't count. That 4th character and up are characters that you enjoy to play. But to each their own.


Also mine are Luigi and D3

 

[Riskman]

I chose my mains based on how natural the character feels to me, how much I like the character in the first place, and whether I feel that I can stay dedicated to that character or not. Toon Link was my one and only main in Brawl because of all those reasons, and he still is one of them in Smash 4. I already liked Mega Man, and I like how he plays so he fits my criteria for example. I could never bring myself to main Rosalina or Shiek or whatever because I just don't like the character, so I would struggle with keeping committed to them.

 

[Princess Toady]

I believe a main is the character you play the most with, the one you love the most, the one you are the best with, etc... However, in my opinion, it can only be ONE character. You can only have one main, I mean, the definition of the word is kind of explicit.

The others characters you are rather proficient with would then become your secondaries. I guess you could pick 3 to 5 secondaries. And then there's the characters you like to play with and those you don't.

So in my case, Peach would be my main in SSBM, Brawl, P:M and SSB4, while Jigglypuff would be my main in SSB and a secondary in the rest of the games. Zelda would also only be a secondary even though she is a character I use an awful lot.

I guess people have different definitions of the word because they don't have a character that would be number 1 in every single aspect of the definition. Sometimes you love a character but you can't help but suck playing as them. Are they your main or are they not ? It's kinda tricky. I suppose your main would be the character you're best with, or the one you could envision yourself play as for the duration of a tournament, without switching to other characters.

 

[Reila]

I am of the opinion that a main have to be character you like and/or from a game you like. They don't need to be necessarily the character you like the most in the cast (as Princess Toady said above, sometimes your favorite characters' play style might not be your thing).

Also, you can only have one main (and a few "secondaries").

 

[LoveGame]

Personally for me, you should have one singular "main" character. That is to say, the one character you pick when you want the best chance at winning and have no knowledge of who your opponent is picking.

Beyond that, you can either stick exclusively to that character, or have 2-3 secondary or "pocket" characters. These are who you choose when you either simply don't want to use your main, or need a counterpick due to a bad matchup with your main.

Lastly, you could have some other characters that you just like to use, perhaps against less-skilled opponents or just for fun, or to experiment with if you're looking for a new main.

I'm not telling you how to play the game or if your style is right or wrong, just trying to give some advice. If you want to get into competitive play, it's best to start out sticking to 2 or 3 characters and learning/mastering them before moving onto anyone else. Trying to learn a lot of characters at once can be a bit confusing and overwhelming to a new Smasher. As you can see in my sig, I currently have four (planned) mains, which I consider a bit of a stretch even then.

If you tend to play more casually or just like to experiment and look for mains, then by all means have as many as you want. Hell, I'm open to the possibility that there are people out there good enough to master the whole cast.

 

[Minuy600]

A main is simply the character you like the most and are the best with. Mine is Yoshi, but Pac-Man and Falco interested me lately. Pac-Man because i've been playing a lot of his game lately.

 

[Mask and Mirror]

Not really sure. I'm not really sure what the absolute definition of main is, though I think I main Lucina and R.O.B.

 

[deech]

I'd say Main is defined by the character(s) you are most comfortable with playing in a competitive level where the goal is to win.

People who play multiple characters well aren't cornered into the idea that main is best, because 'best' is still based on perspective. What does 'best' mean? Win-rate doesn't matter in a 1 v 1 setting.